


It’s a Date

by MoonCat163



Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor - Fandom
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki is glorious in his armor, Loki likes pastries, Loki sends flowers, Workplace Relationship, brief mention of blood and violence, no y/n, the brownies are gone, why are the brownies gone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23553976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonCat163/pseuds/MoonCat163
Summary: Loki has started frequenting the break room on the floor where you work in Stark Tower. No one knows why or how to react to him.One morning, you’re alone in the break room when he arrives, and he’s not quite what you expected.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel) & Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78





	It’s a Date

**Author's Note:**

> i Hope you enjoy! As always, comments are welcome 😊

“So, is everything a go for your birthday dinner?” 

Your friend Clarissa had already arrived at work, and smiled at you when you sat in your desk chair with a sigh. You both shared a small office in Avengers Tower, where you worked as legal assistants. 

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound excited,” she replied, her smile fading slightly. 

“Well, I had to do everything myself,” you told her.

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope,” you responded, while putting your satchel under your desk. “And I’m getting pretty tired of it.”

“I would have kicked him to the curb already,” she said. 

“Hmmm, that may be my next step.”

— — —

Thursday was the day planned for you to meet your boyfriend, Bailey, at the restaurant where you’d reserved a table. You were to meet him there, then go back to your apartment. 

The last few months with him had gotten off track, and despite your efforts to reconnect and talk it out, you felt as if he was just phoning it in. You were at the end of your rope, and had decided that perhaps it was time to just throw in the towel. 

So, Thursday after work, you stopped in your apartment in the Tower to change and freshen up before leaving. After a taxi ride to the restaurant, you were seated. 

And then you waited. 

The time passed rather quickly, and before you knew it, two hours had passed with you sitting at the table alone and checking your phone for messages. You finally got up to move to the bar so that someone else could have the table. 

After another hour or so, you went home, livid, and turned your phone off. You also had Jarvis reset the lock on your door, remove your boyfriend’s name from the authorized visitor list, and deactivate his keycard that gave him access to the elevators. 

— — —

Friday morning saw you still in a bad mood, even after you’d arrived at your office. Clarissa wasn’t there, having taken a long weekend, and you were glad that you wouldn’t have to reconstruct the entire evening. 

When you turned your phone on that morning, there was a slew of voicemails and texts from Bailey, but you were _done_ with him. Your desk phone rang several times, and when you heard his voice on the other end, you promptly hung up. 

You really weren’t getting much work done, so you decided to take a break to get some coffee. While there, your cell phone rang again, so you answered this time. 

“You have some nerve…” you grated out. “All you had to do was show up!”

You had your back to the door, and didn’t realize that someone stood there, debating whether or not to come in. 

“You ‘forgot’ yeah, even after texting me three times yesterday to confirm the place and time,” you hissed. “And where’s my bracelet? The one that you had me pick out for my birthday, you snake! I paid for the thing!”

You listened for a moment, trembling in outrage. 

“Oh, _really?_ Then how is it that I saw a picture on social media of _Maria_ wearing it?” 

By this time you were mad enough to chew nails and your free hand sliced through the air for emphasis. 

“I’d call you an SOB but I like your mother, so I won’t show her such disrespect, so here’s the deal: don’t call me, don’t text me and don’t try to come to my apartment! I have nothing more to say to you. Wait, you know...I _do_ have two words for you - “

Before you could finish, you heard a slight sound behind you, and turned around. The words died in your throat as you recognized who stood at the door, and your knees threatened to give way. 

Slowly, you ended the call and put your phone onto the counter beside your coffee cup. 

Loki Odinson...no, Laufeyson...dear God what had they decided on, since ‘Mr. Loki’ was so juvenile and so inappropriate for him? 

“I...sorry..I guess I was a bit loud,” you murmured. “Sorry, sir.”

You felt that ‘sir’ would be safe, since you weren’t positive on how to address him. The buzzing of your phone made you jump, so you hurriedly silenced it while cleaning up the counter so that he could get his tea. 

You weren’t sure why he was even on this floor, since there was a kitchen on the Avengers’ level, plus several more break rooms on the floors that separated yours from the higher levels. He’d started showing up almost daily a few weeks ago, and no one knew why or how to act around him. 

The first time you’d seen him, you were struck by just how tall he was. He was as tall as Thor, whom you’d seen closeup only a couple of times. His dark hair and green eyes were set off by his porcelain skin, making them more vivid, and his voice was mesmerizing. 

“Damnation,” you whispered when you knocked your cup over, then dropped the whole roll of paper towels when you tried to keep the spill from hitting the floor. 

“Easy, girl, I won’t bite.”

_Unless you want me to._

The thought came out of nowhere, unbidden. He didn’t say it, but you had the feeling that he was _thinking_ it. 

You glanced at him briefly before resuming your clean up effort with shaking hands. Once the mess of towels was disposed of, you excused yourself to go back to your office. It wasn’t until you’d sat down that you remembered you hadn’t gotten your coffee, but you weren’t going back to the break room until after Loki had left. 

By now your head hurt, and you started searching through your desk drawers for the bottle of headache medicine you kept on hand. You couldn’t find it immediately, so started pulling out the drawers again, this time managing to yank one completely out, and subsequently spilling its contents. 

With a sigh, you slid to the floor and started cleaning up the second mess of the day. You were under the desk, trying to corral a few items that had rolled just out of reach, when Loki’s voice startled you. 

“Hello?”

A thud greeted him, along with more soft swearing, then a hand appeared to grasp the edge of the desk. You peered up at him before you slowly stood, while holding the top of your head where you’d smacked it. 

“You left your phone behind,” Loki told you, while holding it out.

“Ah, thanks,” you replied, taking it from him. “I -“

“I’ve brought coffee for you as well,” he continued, motioning toward the cup that he’d put on the desk. 

“Oh. Thank you.”

You continue to stand while dabbing at your head to see if you were bleeding. 

“Perhaps you should sit down,” Loki suggested, having noticed that your hands were still shaking. 

“Yeah, maybe I should - “

You started to sit, but only reached the edge of the chair, which then rolled out from under you. You yelped when you came down hard on the floor while at the same time landing on a lipstick that had escaped the drawer. 

“I give up,” you whispered to yourself after tossing the lipstick aside. 

Loki watched in consternation when you burst into tears. He wasn’t sure how to proceed, so he waited. After a couple of minutes, you realized that he’d offered his hand to help you up. When you didn’t move to take it, he stepped closer to pull you to your feet and to put you into your chair. 

He’d picked you up effortlessly, as if you weighed nothing. Then he held out the box of tissues from your desk. 

“Rough day?” He asked. 

“It’s a spillover from last night,” you replied, before thinking better of it. You were certain that Loki very likely didn’t want to hear specifics, he was just making small talk. 

Then it hit you: Loki, God of Mischief, was making small talk with you. You’d find it funny on any other day, but just the fact that he was interacting with you threw you a curveball. You knew that he really didn’t care to stay around humans any longer than necessary; he never initiated conversation nor invited it. 

“Come with me,” he said. “Bring your coffee.”

“What?” 

“Come along.”

He motioned with his hand, apparently not taking ‘no’ for an answer. 

“I have work-“

“Perhaps, but you’re not getting any done right now, are you?”

You couldn’t argue with that, so you meekly picked up the cup and your phone, then followed him. He didn’t look back, assuming that you’d obey. 

Loki led you back to the break room, then had you sit at a table while he confiscated the box of pastries that had been put on the counter. You took a sip of your coffee while waiting on him to return. 

“Let’s see what we have here.” Loki took the seat across from you, then looked into the box. “What would you like?”

You glanced over the offering, and noticed one brownie with nuts and caramel. With the type of day you’ve been having, you could use chocolate, but since it was the only one, you decided on a chocolate glazed donut instead. That brownie called your name, though. 

“Why didn’t you take the brownie?” He asked. 

“It was the only one..I thought you might want it,” you replied, while pulling your donut into bite sized pieces. 

Since the first day when he’d shown up on your floor, you noticed that the brownies were almost always gone before anyone else got to them. After that, there was a silent agreement among all the employees to leave them for him. Loki didn’t always eat them all, but there were plenty in case he did want them. 

“That’s very kind of you,” he responded, while taking a napkin and breaking the brownie in two. “But not necessary.”

He held out half, then nodded when you accepted it with thanks. Loki watched you, much to your chagrin, before sitting back while eating his brownie. 

“These are quite good,” he commented. 

“Yes, they come from a bakery two blocks away. They’re very popular.”

“I can see why.” Loki took another pastry from the box. “Now, what has upset you so much?”

Before you could answer, your phone buzzed again. After glancing at the caller ID, you silenced it and put it back on the table.

“May I?” He asked, while reaching for it. 

You nodded mutely, unsure whether to be horrified or relieved at his gesture. 

Loki answered the call. “She is busy. No need to call back.”

When he placed the phone back on the table, it began to buzz with rapid-fire texts, so you turned it off. 

“Why are you upset?” He asked.

“I don’t want to burden you with my problems,” you responded softly. “I shouldn’t have been arguing with him so loudly.”

“I did ask, so you are free to tell me.” Loki looked into the pastry box again. “What’s this?”

“An eclair. It has a custard filling.”

You watched while he devoured the eclair, noting that he evidently liked it very much. 

“What’s happened?” He asked. 

You decide you may as well tell him, since you really didn’t think that he was going to drop the subject. 

“My boyfriend forgot my birthday.”

“That wasn’t very bright of him,” Loki responded, while looking for another pastry. 

“I should be used to it by now, he-he’s done it before.”

You shrugged slightly while using a fingertip to scoop chocolate off your donut, then licking it without thinking. Loki’s eyebrow arched at the gesture, but you didn’t notice since your attention was on your hands. 

“And you tolerated that?”

“He would be sufficiently remorseful, so I gave him another chance, then another,” you replied. 

“And now?”

“Yeah, I’m done. He had me pick out a piece of jewelry, then pay for it...he was going to give me the money back, and bring it to dinner, but instead he gave it to someone else.”

Loki nodded slightly before getting up to make himself another tea and more coffee for you. While he stood at the counter, you saw several of your coworkers peek into the break room, but no one came in. Yeah, you didn’t blame them. 

“What do you do here?” He asked then, startling you with the abrupt subject change. 

“Assistant to several of the lawyers,” you replied. “A go-fer.”

“Gopher? Isn’t that a small animal?”

You couldn’t help but smile at that. “A ‘go for’...go for this, go for that…”

“Ah, yes.” Loki took another donut; by now, he’d eaten most of them, and you suspected that he could easily eat another dozen if they were available. 

You felt that you should really get back to your desk, but you didn’t want to excuse yourself to leave, especially while he was still eating. The people outside the room would just have to wait until he was done. And you hoped that neither of your bosses were looking for you since you weren’t answering either of your phones. 

Besides, Loki was beautiful to look at, and you decided that you weren’t really in a hurry to go back to your office. You might even consider just going to your apartment to finish a few things before taking the rest of the day off. 

While you quietly drank your coffee, Loki finished the donuts, and you couldn’t help but smile. Snoozers are losers, you thought, knowing that there would be disappointed people hovering outside the break room. 

There was a commotion outside, then one of your bosses _did_ come in, perturbed and on a mission. 

“Why aren’t you at your desk or answering your phone—“

His angry stance deserted him almost as quickly as his voice did when Loki turned slightly to look at him. 

“Because she is keeping me company,” Loki replied. “She will return to her duties when we are finished here.”

You sat there, silently and helplessly, because now you definitely were _not_ going to leave the table until you were sure that Loki was through with his breakfast, or second breakfast or mid morning snack, or whatever _this_ was. 

“Yes, of course, that’s fine…”

“Get more of these pastries and brownies and bring them to me.”

“Sure.”

Loki turned back toward you after the other man had left the room. He smiled softly then, trying to ease your tension. 

“Now, where were we?”

You had to think for a brief moment. “You had asked me what my job was.”

“And that man is one of those that you fetch things for?”

“Yep, that's one of them.”

“Hmm.” Loki’s expression was speculative. 

“May I ask something?” You asked, a bit nervously. 

“Of course.”

Now you had his full attention, and those emerald eyes seemed to see right through you. Your knees quivered, causing you to press them firmly together. 

“None of us on this floor actually expected to encounter you,” you started, before taking a deep breath. “How would you like to be addressed?”

“ _You_ may call me by my name,” he replied. 

“Just ‘Loki’?”

He nodded just as your boss arrived with another box of pastries and set them on the table. 

“You may go,” Loki told him, when he didn’t immediately move away.

“Of course.”

You smiled to yourself while Loki opened the box to look inside, then offered you a brownie. Your headache was worse by then, so you declined it. 

“Are you unwell?” He asked, his vivid eyes on you again. 

“I just have a bad headache,” you told him. “That’s how my desk drawer got spilled, I was looking for some medicine that I keep there.”

“I see,” Loki replied. “Give me your hand.”

You placed your hand into his without a word, but you hoped he wouldn’t notice or point out that you were trembling. You watched intently while he rubbed your palm with his fingertip, and the action made you relax to the point where you could almost fall asleep. 

“That’s nice,” you murmured, as your headache slowly eased. 

“Better?”

“Much better, thank you.”

You continued to watch while he drew patterns onto your skin, finding that his own skin was cool, and that his hands were graceful. You weren’t aware that he watched you while your attention was on him. 

After a time, he stopped and squeezed your hand gently before letting go. Sighing, you rotated your head, as if testing that the tension was gone. 

“You approve?” He asked, with a hint of amusement. 

“Definitely,” you responded. “How does that work?”

“A simple spell,” he shrugged slightly. 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “I suppose I should release you to your duties now. Stark will likely give me a lecture, which he knows I will ignore.”

His eyes were lit with mischief, and you couldn’t help but smile at him. Loki stood then, and moved the pastry box back to the counter. You reluctantly went to the sink to rinse and dry your cup, and then he walked with you back to your office.

Once he was gone, you weakly sank into your chair, after making certain that you wouldn’t miss this time. A shaky breath escaped, then you laughed softly at yourself, thinking that you’d just survived an encounter with Thor’s notorious brother. 

You were now fan-girling big time. 

— — —

After he left you at your desk, Loki got onto the elevator and headed up to the penthouse. When the doors opened, Thor and Tony Stark were waiting on him. 

“Thor, Stark,” he greeted them. “Going somewhere?”

“On a rescue mission,” Tony replied. 

“Oh?”

“One of the attorneys on the 30th floor called and said that his assistant was being held against her will in a break room,” Tony said.

“Ridiculous,” Loki scoffed, while brushing past him. 

“Were you on that floor?” 

“Yes.” Loki saw no point in denying it, since he knew that Stark had cameras everywhere, along with the Jarvis, who could see almost everything. 

“Why?”

“They have brownies in the break room,” he replied, with a challenging smile. 

Tony rocked on his heels while he stared at the tall Asgardian. Thor watched the interaction while trying not to laugh, knowing that Loki loved to needle Tony, who typically rose to the occasion by returning the favor. 

“Are you sure it’s not because of a girl?” Tony asked then, noting that Loki’s smile faded a bit. “I kinda think it’s a girl.”

“You bore me.” Loki glared before he turned to go to his apartment. 

“It’s a girl,” Tony told Thor, loudly enough to follow Loki down the hallway. 

— — —

After he’d closed his door against Tony’s taunts, Loki picked up a book he’d been reading, and then settled down on his sofa. He thought about what had been said, and found himself disgruntled that Tony had been so observant. 

It was true that he’d started going to your floor after you’d caught his notice. He’d been waiting on an elevator and when the doors opened, there were more people on it than he cared to have surrounding him. All were men, except one, who backed away once they realized who was about to get on.

One of them evidently had stepped on your foot, causing you to complain and shove against him. Then you had elbowed your way out of the back corner without noticing what had caused the ruckus. The elevator doors had closed then. 

From that day, Loki had done a little snooping and a lot of observing before he found out your name and which floor you worked on. Then he’d started visiting the break room and stealing glances at you as he passed your office. 

He knew that you and your colleagues were aware when he arrived, but of course no one approached him or spoke. So, he’d spend time in the break room, eating the brownies and waiting until an opportunity presented itself. 

That opportunity came today, with you in the break room and distracted by your phone call. He stopped at the door, listening for a few minutes until you’d finally noticed him. 

If he couldn’t tell that you were nervous about his being there, the fact that you’d spilled your coffee and then fled the break room without your phone would have enlightened him. While you sat with him, he also could see that you trembled all over, although it may not have been noticeable to anyone else, other than possibly Thor. 

When you’d let him take your hand to ease your headache, he’d watched your face. He recognized from your expression when the pain left, and when you relaxed. Your hand was warm and soft, leading him to trace the healing runes into your palm longer than necessary. 

Loki had kept you still until he was sure that you were less wary of him, because he intended to get to know you better. You just didn’t know it yet. 

— — — 

Your weekend was uneventful for the most part. You still refused Bailey’s calls, ignored his texts, and refused to allow him up to your apartment when he showed up at the Tower’s security desk. 

You managed to get a head start on your work, then simply napped, read or watched movies. 

When you did arrive at work on Monday, Clarissa was already there. You immediately noticed that your desk held a vase of flowers with no card. 

“They were here before I came in,” Clarissa told you. “How did the dinner go?”

When you tossed the flowers into the waste can, she had her answer. You told her what happened, but omitted the part about sharing your break with Loki. Someone had probably told her already, anyway. 

“I heard that you were taken hostage,” she said, eyes wide. 

“Who the hell told you that?” You asked, incredulously. “That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“What _did_ happen?”

After taking a deep, calming breath, you told her about the incident with Loki, and stressed that there had been no ‘hostage taking,’ contrary to the rumors going around. Since she heard it first hand from you, she promised to correct anyone who had the wrong information. 

After a couple of hours, you both were called out of the office to meet with one of the attorneys. When you returned, there were more flowers on your desk, and you promptly disposed of them like the others. 

For the entire week, fresh flowers would appear on your desk, and you’d toss them in the garbage. You didn’t see Loki all week, and you did wonder about that but figured that maybe there had been some type of mission where he and the others would be gone for a while. 

On the following Monday, you arrived at work to find Clarissa standing in the hallway and looking rather nervous. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked. 

She merely pointed to the office before beating a hasty retreat, leaving you bewildered, at least until you saw what, or who, had spooked her. 

Loki was in a chair with his back to you and you couldn’t help but admire the thick mane of raven hair as you went around the desk to put your things down. 

“Loki?” you said, with a smile that belied your shaking knees. 

_He told me to call him by his name,_ you kept assuring yourself.

“Good morning,” he replied as he stood until you sat down. 

Once again, there was a vase of flowers on your desk, and you tossed them into the garbage as before. You missed Loki’s confused expression when you turned slightly to turn your computer on. 

“Do you not like flowers?” He asked. 

“I love flowers,” you replied. “Although some do aggravate my allergies.”

“Why did you throw them away then?”

“Because of who sent them,” you said with a shrug. “I thought he would have given up by now.”

Loki said nothing to that, but he now had a sense of relief. He’d put the flowers there by seidr each morning only to see them in the garbage later when he walked by your office. You were away from your desk each time, and he didn’t see you at all that week.

He never realized that you would assume that they’d come from the boyfriend. He could almost hear Tony Stark howling with laughter. 

“Is something wrong?” You asked. 

“No,” he replied, then paused hesitantly. “There is something…”

You waited expectantly while he seemed to struggle over speaking his mind. He finally took a deep breath. 

“Stark is taking a few of us to an opera in a couple of weeks and said that I should have a companion. I’m curious whether you’d consider joining us for the evening?”

“I’ve never been to an opera,” you responded, surprised and flattered by the offer. 

“I will understand if you’d rather not—“

“No, it’s not that, truly,” you interrupted, with a reassuring smile. “I would love to go.”

“I am told that there is an intermission, so if you’re not enjoying yourself, we can leave.”

“Sure, I’ll just have to find an appropriate dress,” you told him. 

“Good. We’ll be in his box at the theatre,” Loki continued, as he stood. “I’ll have the exact day and time for you in a day or so.”

“That will be fine.”

“I must go now, before Stark comes looking for me. There is a meeting that requires us all to be in attendance, and I dread it.”

You couldn’t help but grin at his disgruntled expression, which earned a grin in return. 

Once he’d left, you literally went limp in your chair. Your hands shook and your knees had never stopped, and you could _hear_ your heartbeat. 

“Wha-at was that?” Clarissa asked, when she saw that the coast was clear for her to return. 

“I-I’m not sure,” you replied. 

“You think he likes you?”

“I...I truly don’t know what to think,” you whispered, then jumped when you noticed that the vase of flowers was back on your desk. 

It was then that you knew Bailey hadn’t sent them. 

— —

For the next couple of weeks, Loki would join you on your break, although he didn’t show up every single day. You decided not to expect it, thinking that maybe he was just bored enough to wander the building in order to create a little chaos among the employees. 

As for the flowers, you kinda made a game of it by moving them to the window sill, or by putting them in your desk drawer, but if you left the office or turned your back, they were back on the corner of the desk. 

The types of flowers would change daily, but your favorites were the black or lavender roses. You’d never seen black roses except for pictures on the internet and weren’t sure whether they were real until they appeared in your office. 

You hadn’t seen Loki yet this morning, and based on his pattern, he wouldn’t come by. So at lunch, you decided to leave the Tower to pick up a ring that had been sized for you. The jewelry store was almost directly across the street, so you wouldn’t have far to go, and the weather was nice enough for a short walk.

While you waited for the clerk to bring your ring from the back, you browsed around, drooling over the larger diamonds, at least until you reached the emerald display. One of the stones was as big as a walnut and had a price tag to match. 

You weren’t paying much attention, at least not until you heard glass breaking. Then there were several masked men shouting while waving pistols about. 

You ducked behind a showcase, hoping not to be seen, then quietly removed your shoes in case you were able to make a run for it. If you made it out of this, you were never wearing high heels again, you decided. 

When several shots rang out, you huddled further down, just waiting for the right moment. After a couple of minutes, you heard the familiar sound of repulsor blasts. 

— — 

Jarvis immediately let Tony know that shots had been fired at the jewelry store, since it was in close proximity to the Tower. Tony suited up and flew down with Thor to help stop the robbery, while Steve led the others down to the lobby via an express elevator. 

“There are several civilians pinned down by gunfire,” Tony reported. 

“I see one,” Steve said, “To the left of the main door.”

— —

You kept your head down, and only looked up to work out the quickest path to the outside without getting shot. After the front window shattered, you looked again and were relieved to see Loki. 

He wore his battle armor, without the helmet, and the sight was glorious. As he strode across the street, his gaze met yours. It was obvious that he was surprised, then his expression changed to anger. You weren’t aware that you were pale, nor that tears streamed down your face. 

When he got closer, you took the chance and bolted through the window, ignoring the broken glass. Your only thought was to get to him as quickly as you possibly could. Loki caught you then whirled around to put himself between you and the gunmen. He held you tightly with your back to his chest, and curled over you. 

_“Where are your shoes, girl?!”_

“I-I picked the wrong d-day to wear heels,” you said, with a sob, and then you screamed when you felt him flinch from the impact of bullets striking him. “You’re hit!”

“Be still!”

Finally, when the others drew fire away from him, he picked you up and put you on the ground behind a low concrete wall. 

“Do not move until I come for you,” he told you, cupping your chin to get your attention. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” you gasped, placing your shaking hand on his wrist.

“It’s alright, little one,” his voice softened, wanting to calm you as much as he could. “Just stay put.”

He left you then, and after a moment, you slowly collapsed onto your side. You laid still while trying to block out the sounds of the fight, and so you concentrated on the movement of an ant that was crawling toward your face. 

To keep it from going up your nose, you blew little puffs of air at it until you were able to make it change direction. As you watched it crawl away, you felt the stinging from the bottoms of your feet and from your side. 

Finally, the shouts and gunfire ceased, although you were only vaguely aware of it. You heard someone call Loki’s name, and when he answered, his voice was close by. 

When Loki did come for you, he grew very concerned. He’d put a spell over you that would make you invisible to anyone but him. It would have worked, too, if not for the trail of blood that appeared out of nowhere to run across the pavement. 

He ended the illusion as he knelt beside you, then he carefully checked for wounds. There were several cuts on the bottoms of your feet, but they were minor injuries that didn’t account for the amount of blood he saw. 

“I didn’t move,” you whispered. “Even when an ant tried to crawl up my nose.”

“That’s a girl,” he replied, as he continued to look for injuries. “Where are you hurt?”

Before you could answer, though, he found what he was looking for: a seeping wound on your side. He quickly slowed the bleeding with a spell until it could be treated. 

“Easy,” he murmured, in response to your whimper of pain when he pulled you upright. “I have to move you now.”

Loki lifted you carefully while instructing you to put your arms around his neck so that he could avoid having to grip your side. When you obeyed, you considerately moved his hair away from his neck so that you wouldn’t pull it and discovered that it was softer than it looked. 

“Thank you for helping me,” you said, quietly. 

He could feel your body relaxing as you neared unconsciousness while he strode quickly into the Tower. 

“That’s not necessary,” he replied. “You’re not getting out of our date so easily.”

“Oh, so now it’s a date?” You asked, while smiling to yourself. 

“Hmm,” he replied. “I suppose that I _could_ always take you hostage.”

“Not necessary,” you breathed before going limp in his arms. 

— — —

Several days later, you were still in the infirmary and ready to get _out_. The cuts on the bottoms of your feet were shallow but healing nicely, although it was uncomfortable for you to walk. The injury on your side luckily was just a graze, which had missed doing any major damage; it was also healing quickly, although the doctors wanted to keep an eye on you for a couple of days. 

When he had brought you to the medical wing, you had refused treatment until Loki assured you, and then proved to you that he wasn’t injured. You knew that he had been hit by bullets, but when he showed you his back, there were only faint bruises to be seen.

When Loki came into your room, you smiled at him and held out your hand.

“Well?”

“Orange sherbet, as ordered,” he replied, handing you the small sack that he carried. 

“Yay!” 

You eagerly opened the sherbet, wasting no time. Loki tweaked the toes of one foot, causing you to grin at him as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

Since the day you were injured during the jewelry store robbery, you had become more relaxed around him. He visited you every day, and stayed for hours or until Tony Stark threatened to make your room a ‘No Visitor’ zone unless he showed up for work. 

Tony and Thor had come after him one day, and your room seemed awfully small with two large Asgardians and one normal sized human in it. You were more apprehensive that your employer was there than Thor. 

“You know, if you don’t feel that you’ll be up to attend the opera, we could always…” he started to tell you. 

“Oh, no,” you interrupted him. “ _You’re_ not getting out of our date so easily. I’ll go barefoot if I have to.”

“I hardly think it will come to that,” he replied, chuckling. 

“Good, because I really want to go,” you told him. “With you, I mean.”

He smiled at you. “Good, because I really want to go with you, too.”

You returned his smile before turning your attention to your sherbet. Loki watched you before absently caressing your ankle. 

“Have you ever tried this?” You asked.

“No.”

“There’s a clean spoon there if you want to taste it.”

“Another time, perhaps,” he replied. “I want to tell you something.”

“What’s that?”

“I can heal these, if you want...the wound on your side wasn’t very deep, so I thought it best just to have the healers here clean it. Your feet, too.”

“I know,” you replied, while licking your spoon. 

“You do?”

“Mhmmm,” you responded. “I listen, especially when everyone thinks I’m sleeping.”

“I see,” Loki watched your expression critically. “And it doesn’t bother you?”

“Not at all,” you told him. “I understand that it takes energy away from you to heal someone, and these are minor injuries, so it’s no biggie. Besides, I get to rest for a few days, and have a prince bring things to me. Which reminds me, it _is_ customary to bring flowers to someone in the hospital. Where are mine?”

Loki couldn’t help but laugh at that before he obediently produced an empty vase.

“Which type of flowers should I offer?”

“The lavender roses, please.”

— — — 

Several weeks later, you waited for Loki to retrieve you from your apartment so that he could escort you down to where Tony’s car would be waiting. You were rather nervous that maybe you weren’t dressed appropriately, but from the expression on his face, felt that you’d hit the mark. 

“You’re lovely,” he murmured. “I daresay that I will have the most beautiful woman on my arm tonight.”

“Thank you,” you replied, trying hard not to blush. “I’m certain that I have the most handsome escort.”

You smiled at each other before Loki put your wrap around your shoulders, and then led you to the elevator. His arm then went around your waist as he held you against his side for the trip down. 

Tony and Pepper had left already, leaving you and Loki to come in a separate car. After arriving at the theatre, you straightened Loki’s tie before smoothing his jacket across his chest. 

“I was right,” you commented, softly. 

“About what?”

“My escort. He puts all the others to shame.”

Loki’s smile made you soft inside, and when he kissed you lightly, your knees threatened to give way. You had the feeling that he rarely received compliments, at least genuine ones, so you were determined to change that.

You were also going to make sure that you kissed him every chance you could, because after just that brief touch of his lips, you’d nearly swooned. 

This prince needed to be kissed, and kissed often, and you were in the position to do just that. 


End file.
